I started researching right away on 20′s dresses that would be easy-ish to make.  My sewing skills are average at best and I am also impatient to see the final result!  There are lots of tutorials on how to make one of those flapper fringe dresses but I wanted something a little less obvious.  Those fringe dresses are fun to wear but they are readily availble almost anywhere you can buy a dress and I feel like they are cliche. I also thought that in the 1920′s it was probably more often than not that a girl would go to an event in a dress she made herself.

So I went directly to dressmakingresearch.com.  On the site they have reproduced articles from ladies magazines dating back to the 1890′s.  I could easily spend hours looking at each dress on the site but quickly found one that seemed simple enough to execute by myself.   Basically you start with a  full slip, pin and drape the fabric to the slip while you are wearing it then hand tack everywhere there is a pin.  The pinning only took about 2 hours but the finishing took about 2 days.  I was very happy with the results epecially after I added long pearls, a self belt, a lace headband and a chinese parasol.

We had a truly charmed afternoon drinking St. Germain cocktails, watching the big band and faking the Charleston.  Next weekend we are going to Saratoga for Travers Weekend.  I plan on wearing the entire outfit again!

Click here for instructions on how to make my dress

Our room was not ready when we arrived at Auberge du Vieux
Port  so we walked around the block to Hotel Nelligan to have a cocktail on the
rooftop terrasse.  The Terasse was tres chic but I had forgotten that booze is expensive in Canada and the $12-$15 drinks are weak.  Go for beer or wine instead for maximum buzz value.

After dinner at the hotel, we took a walk to Place des Arts, a massive arts and performance complex in the middle of the city.  From 10 AM until after midnight there is something happening at all 3 venues in the complex.  We stopped to watch a Samba band complete with Carnival dancers, a creepy giant puppet show on the main stage, and a band from the Ivory Coast.

Creepy giant puppet show

We had tickets to the 10:30 show of Meschiya Lake and the Little Bighorns so we walked there in the swealtering heat.  As we were seated for our show we congratulated ourselves on our cutting edgeness:  Our venue was Café Cleopatra, downstairs strip club upstairs drag caberet.  The Little Bighorns are 40’s style Dixieland jazz band featuring a tattooed and coiffed lead singer with a huge voice, a wicked clarinetist and totally cute sousaphone and trombone players.   We were surrounded by Montreal hipsters dancing the Jitterbug.  Who knew?

Meshaya and the Little Bighorns belt it out for Montreal hipsters

Our awesome drag cocktail waitress jitterbugging with hipsters at Cafe Cleopatra

On Friday we went toured a part of the city we had not seen–West Mount and the St. Joseph Oratory.  This humongous church is best know for having an almost saint, Brother Andre.  He needs 1 more papal sanctioned miracle or
something like that.  He is best known for healing walking problems and his chapel, which contains a reliquary with his heart, is filled with the crutches of those healed.  There is even a wooden staircase if you want to do penance by walking up on your knees.  I did one flight—for my family’s continuing health. We walked the long way down through Montreal’s most exclusive neighborhood and only got in a minor fight just before finding Rue de Lunch.

me at the bottom of St. Joseph Oratory

Next stop shopping!!  Canadian fashion has never really been my thing.
I usually find it fussy and overdesigned.  However, Montreal has some of the best vintage shopping I have ever seen.  My favorite shop, Kitsch and Swell , is a boudoir fantasy of naughty playing cards, fringe lamps, leopard prints and a perfectly curated mix of vintage clothes and tchotchkes.   The prices are reasonable and I left with 2 dresses that cause my pupils to dilate.  By the way, Canada has Cuban cigars so while I am shopping my boyfriend is perfectly happy to stay outside and enjoy one.  Everyone wins!

Interior of one of my favorite vintage boutiques

Fringe lamps and naughty pictures

A rack of pretty dresses

Our show that night was Danny Bhoy, a Scottish comedian of Indian descent—very funny.  Dinner at Garde Manger in the cool back bar. Chuck was nowhere to be found.

I found Saturday a kind of weird day in Montreal.  I wanted to do some shopping on St. Denis and found nothing opened until 1.  So we decided to have lunch on the Place des Artes and then come back around 7.  Our favorite dinner destination, Au Pied de Cochon, was in the vicinity.  Of course,
everything closed at 4 or 5.   This is one thing no one tells you and it is not in any guidebook.  Now, Rue St. Denis is a vibrant street with tons of shops and restaurants and bars.  It was Saturday and by my New Yorker thinking the busiest and longest shopping day of the week.  Whoever heard of being open
for 4 hours on Saturday?  When do people shop if they miss the time window?  I had a teeny tiny tantrum, then some beer and all was good.

It was ungodly hot during our weekend but we managed to stay pretty comfortable.  I wore mostly little cotton dresses, “>Neutrogena sunscreen under my http://www.carmenadriana.com/blog/?p=100 Continue reading →]]> I am very fortunate to have some amazingly talented friends.  Late yesterday afternoon we all sashayed up Frederick Douglas Blvd to a brightly painted bodega and proceeded to take photos of gorgeous Billy Holiday look-alike, Zarha Burton.  This was the brain child of Christine Lauterbach and Maureen Pedala, hair and make up artists extraordinaire.  Scott Jansson, amazing all around camera guy, took the photos.  Styled by yours truly.  Gown by Carmen Marc Valvo.

In the effort to build get some nice bridal style shots for our portfolios, something magical happened. A guy walks by with a string bass and agrees to be in the shot.  A little girl with a pink ball cap and big dreams smiles shyly in the background.  A small, cheerful man with a Spanish accent proudly wearing a paint spattered Sex Pistols t shirt charms Zahra.  This is
what I love about living in Harlem.

one of the hot naked chicks and a guy in a great suit

I was more impressed with the merchandise–really great looking suits made from Italian fabrics starting at $399–quite the bargain considering a suit from a mall store will cost just as much without the great styling or hot naked chicks.  All of the sales professionals were impeccably turned out in that fabulously Euro-slim way that only Italians can perfect.  Don’t be discouraged though, Antony, a great guy helping my guy find a jacket, assures that Suitsupply has a range of styles from super slim to traditional.  This makes my boyfriend, a traditional suit guy indeed, very happy.

Wall of ties

Summerfeet is a condition that affects all NYC ladies this time of year.  It manifests itself as crippling blisters, raw spots, tingling, and numbness on the lower extremities.  It is caused by warm weather footwear rubbing, pressing, and slicing into our tender winter flesh.  Since walking is the main mode of transportation in this town, we are particularly susceptible to summerfeet.  Add the bulk of a 8-10lb tote bag we must carry around and each step can feel like a punishment.

Fortunately, I have a few preventatives and remedies to help.

–To conform your summer shoes to your feet skip the professional stretching by your shoe repair guy.  Try this instead:

Put on a thin sock or nylon then spray with water until completely saturated. Put on your sandal and walk around your house with it until the nylon is dry. Repeat until your shoe is comfortable.  The water and heat from your foot will soften the leather and it will conform to the exact shape of your foot. You can also use a solution of equal parts water and rubbing alcohol but I have had great results with just water.  I discovered this by accidentally stepping in a puddle.

–Always carry a spare pair.  Chinese slippers like the ones at Pearl River Mart are perfect for this. My favrorites are the Mary Janes in bright colors or the beaded slippers.   I also like rubber flip flops like Havianas.  Remember that these options are ETS (emergency temporary shoes) to be worn only when crawling is preferable to taking another step.

–What happens if you don’t have a spare pair?  Or the spare pair will ruin your look?  I LOVE Band-Aid Advanced Healing Blister Cushions.  They are comfortable, don’t slip, water resistant, have amazing cushioning.  They are also made of kind of transparent material that blends with your skin.  A little more pricey but totally worth it.

–OTC pain killers.  I give this advice to all of my clients.  If you know that a particular pair of shoes will be causing you pain and you must wear them, take a dose of your preferred over the counter analgesic about 20 minutes before you leave the house.  I am not a doctor but I have found that this really works!

I hope this advice has been helpful.  Please let me know what you think!

Carmen Adriana

I find that a lot of stylists will just tell someone yes or no and not really give a reason why they feel that way.  I think that in order to help empower someone through their clothes you must help them perceive themselves as others perceive them.  In this case my friend wanted to show off her now favorite assests (her legs) but was crossing the line from hot momma to skank momma.  In the end we were both really happy and I want to share the advice with everyone.

It started with these shoes:

And this dress:  

Right away I have a problem.  This is 2 slutty things in one outfit.  These shoes go under the category of **ck me shoes and the dress is not only short but tight and low cut.  This leaves nothing to the imagination and can end up looking more like desperate hoochie than hot momma.  The key to looking sexy is to let them guess about what they aren’t seeing.   I suggested she go with a flat sandal or a fun platform in a fun bright color that is more “cute and fun”.  She was not in to the flat sandal idea.

Q: If she goes with heels do they have to be chunky platforms?

A: It has to be something that will tone down the short skirt and compliment not
compete with the print–a wedge would work. I would love a nude patent platform
pump that would disappear on the leg. Could even be peep toe–not pointy. Aldo
and steve madden have good ones now. The shoes really shouldn’t be too
special–its the dress that should stand out.

She settled on this pair from Plenty by Tracy Reese.  Not exactly what I was thinking but I think they really work with the dress.  Literally , this is the high heel sandal equivalent to tassled oxfords.  The sluttiness is dialed way down by the nude color and this is in perfect keeping with my friend’s personal style.

Then a day later I received an email titled “Switch!” 

The **ck me shoes won and the dress changed to this simple Diane Von Furstenburg sheath.  Just short enough, the black camoflages a multitude of post baby body blues, it is not going out of style any time soon, and it works PERFECTLY with the shoes.  Woohoo!!

Last month I had the great pleasure of working on a Capital One Bank commercial at Chelsea Piers. It featured the CEO of Chelsea Piers, Roland Betts and his banker the extraordinary Ellen Marshall. This was a really fun project with Ellen and Roland conducting business in all kinds of sports scenarios–a golf cart, a soccer field, a hockey rink in full hockey gear, a rock wall. There were definitely times when I thought–how lucky am I?  I always love spending time with successful women thinking that some of them will rub off on me.  During the two days I worked with Ellen, one quality struck me again and again.  No matter what situation she was put in she was always a lady. I don’t know how she managed it–that hockey uniform smelled like the inside of an old road pizza–but she did with grace to spare!  I will try to remember that the next time I am in the stress equivalent of climbing a rock wall in a suit and pearls!

Click here to see the segment.

Click here to view where to buy.

More updates on my latest projects coming soon!